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danny mayor

Bury will be returning to League One this summer, kicking off a brand new season in August. But before even the fixtures can be announced, a trip back to court looms for the club.

As the dust settles on this year’s promotion back to the third tier, the realisation a potential history defining date on May 15th could well decide Bury’s future.

Until financial issues can be dealt with, planning for next season has to be put on hold. Despite a second place finish in League Two, it seems Bury are unable to make any steps forward as far as strengthening the squad is concerned.

Ryan Lowe and his players have not been paid for two months and while owner Steve Dale has the club up for sale, no potential buyer has come to the forefront yet.

Lowe urged Dale to ‘find a solution’ when discussing the off the pitch drama at the club. As far as his immediate future is concerned, the former striker said he and his players would not be going anywhere soon, yet would need assurances that all club staff, from manager to cleaner, would have a regular wage coming in.

When discussing the off the pitch troubles, Lowe said.

“We’ve done our bit. Now it’s time for the club to find a solution. The club needs an investor or a new owner. It’s up for sale and I hope it’s resolved very soon because I’ve got players effectively out of contract as of yesterday.

They want to know where they stand, and so do I. Because we’ve all gone a couple of months without pay and we’ve all got to look after our families.

I ain’t in no rush to leave and nor is anybody else. As long as the finances get resolved, I’m happy. But there’s a deadline on everything isn’t there? And there’ll come a point where all of us – myself, my staff, the players – become available’.

Many clubs will look to the work achieved by the former striker, realising that in the past year the EFL saw the emergence of a top manager. Only days after the 2018/19 season drew to a close, Plymouth Argyle was a club reported having shown an interest in him.

Danny Mayor is now out of contract and Nicky Maynard is a free agent. These are two players of many who could look elsewhere in their careers if they are to lose faith in the Bury board.

For now, fans will hope and pray Dale finds his successor. Wednesday’s big court day could well decide everything. Long AND short term.

As the 2018/19 football league season draws to a close, the question of promotion for Bury has finally be answered. Yes, of course Ryan Lowe’s side would eventually join Lincoln City in League One next season, as confirmed on Tuesday night at Tranmere Rovers.

Other than the division change, the thought that Bury could be without their best players and even manager is a worrying thought all fans will not even want to consider.

So as the Shakers look to prepare for life in League One, without or without Lowe and his backroom staff, we take a look at the three players Bury will want to cling onto next season…

Danny Mayor

Scorer of the goal that earned Bury promotion in their 1-1 draw with Tranmere on Tuesday night, the key to the side’s creativity throughout this season as well. Missed so much during April in defeats against Cambridge and Carlisle through suspension, the idea the upcoming League Two club could lose their midfield man isn’t really an option anybody with an affiliation to the club would want to consider.

With 12 goals and 11 assists this season in all competitions, Mayor will no doubt be in hot pursuit for many League One and even Championship clubs. With the club back up for sale and with no takers at present, Mayor may look elsewhere to extend his playing career, especially considering the fact he turns 28 and arguably in the prime of his career.

Nicky Maynard

Again another obvious choice to list, yet considering he is the clubs top goal scorer this season in a promotion winning one, Maynard’s first season in Greater Manchester may well be his last.

His 21 chart stopping season is bettered by only two players in League Two this season in James Norwood (Tranmere) and Tyler Walker (Mansfield Town). He didn’t start his playing season till September either, so his record in front of goal is one any other investor couldn’t ignore. Like Mayor, the ex-Aberdeen man will not want to see a salary reduction. The chances of him remaining as the frontman of Bury are most definitely in doubt.

Dom Telford

Potentially a left field name to mention in this list yet after starring in the Checkatrade Trophy run this season, the 22-year-old is someone the Shakers will want to keep hold of and not let a relatively young striker head out the exit door.

Even though players like Jay O’Shea or Nicky Adams may be standout options, 14 goals in only his second full playing season is no bad total. With youth on his side, he could well be the long term choice up front for Bury and an immediate successor to Maynard up top.

Bury host Port Vale in the final match of this memorable season back in League Two. How many players make the team sheet for opening fixtures in August is anyone’s guess however.

Four years ago, Tom Soares goal earned Bury a 1-0 win over Tranmere Rovers, ensuring a top three promotion spot and that The Shakers would play their 2015/16 football in League One. On a rather substantial budget, David Flitcroft’s team won promotion, finishing the season third on 85 points.

Sadly this would be ex-manager Flitcroft and ex-chairman Day’s one and only promotion with the club. 18 months later the now Mansfield boss was sacked from the helm at Gigg Lane whilst Day would flee the club the same year the club were relegated back down to League Two, 2018.

Now on Saturday an all new Bury side will aim to repeat what was achieved on the final day of the 2014/15 season, or at least take them near enough to the finish line. Although the squad has seen a fair few turnovers, the strong contingent of fans remains the same and a sell out visiting end will travel to Merseyside with plenty of optimism ahead of Bury’s final away game of the season.

A win would near enough send Bury back up to League One. This has become a must not lose game for Lowe’s side as any more slip ups could leave them faced in a potential five team final day promotion battle.

Tranmere are certainly not the side there were back in 2015. Then already relegated to the Non-League, now Micky Mellon’s side sit four points off the automatic promotion spots, five behind Bury after 44 games. Within their ranks is none other than James Norwood, league Two’s top goalscorer with 27 goals and player of the season, pipping Danny Mayor and Jay O’Shea to the award.

Mellon will believe his side are more than a match for Bury. Having gone without a win in three away games on the road, putting a dent into The Shaker’s promotion coffin is by no means impossible.

However, the never die attitude of Bury FC is something Rovers will find hard to match. Visiting fans may well see another post match 5pm huddle, something we’ve seen a fair few times in recent weeks.

81 points should be enough for promotion, due to MK Dons and Mansfield going up against each other next Saturday. In the event of a ‘promotion party’ which will probably include a pitch invasion in the Port Vale game, this would mean a fond farewell to the fourth division, but on the flip side, a goodbye to the majority of first team players and maybe even manager due to problems completely out of their hands.

But that article can wait. First let’s see if this present team can collect six points can from their final two games.

At the EFL end of season awards a few weeks ago, Bury boss Ryan Lowe called for players, coaches and staff to ‘be united’. If the club showed a togetherness, they would have enough to fend off rivals to earn promotion at the first time of asking.

Two homes wins on from Lowe’s war cry and Bury are nearly there. Having come from behind to beat Northampton 3-1 on Easter Monday, it looks very much as though The Shakers are ready to achieve a task which looked like a stroll only five weeks ago.

All teams go through a rocky patch in the season and Bury’s couldn’t have come at a worse time. Whilst a financial war continues behind the scenes, on the pitch the team is sending a clear message. The team will fight till the last kick of the season, promotion or not.

It would be very easy to suggest the players and management staff have given up on the owner Steve Dale. Having promised to see the club safe and steer them out of financial trouble, matters on that front are still up in the air.

Although many of this current squad looks like leaving this summer, promotion or not, no fan could argue those on the pitch haven’t given everything for the club. Danny Mayor, whose contract is up in the summer, scored a wonderful solo effort which demonstrated just the talent he has. Sadly though, the chances of him doing just that in a white and blue kit next year are slim.

Although promotion isn’t guaranteed, four points out of the last six will most likely be enough to earn one of the two last remaining promotion spots. After Mansfield, MK Dons and Tranmere all dropped points two days ago, it seems no team in the league two promotion race wants to go up the easy way.

All this a strong advantage for Bury, despite losing three of their last five games and a hat trick of defeats in March and April, still look likely to go up.

With the spirit and solidarity shown over recent weeks despite not picking up a single wage, Ryan Lowe and co may even have earned the liking of a neutral as they aim to do their job without financial reward.

Danny Mayor and Jay O’Shea were nominated for League Two player of the season on Tuesday. Rightly so, between them they’ve netted 26 goals and 12 assists in the process of taking Bury to within touching basis of promotion with 8 games to play.

There is no doubt a few eyebrows may have been raised when Lowe opted for a 3-5-2 formation back in August following on from Bury’s slow start to life in League Two, but there has been no better players than Mayor or O’Shea who have benefited from the formation switch.

For Mayor, he has no doubt found a level to excel at in League Two this season and his creative play will prove just that. Still Bury’s main creative force and the main architect behind Bury’s newly found attacking play under Lowe this season.

Jay O’Shea has been of similar ranking and no doubt deserves his nomination, but may be overlooked for the award. One of the surviving players from the shambles that was Bury’s 2017/18 League One campaign under Lee Clark, Chris Lucketti and then finally Lowe himself as caretaker manager, O’Shea has powered through the ranks netting 16 goals this year and he’s got 8 games to still add to his tally.

Whether Bury’s nominees win the award is another matter, but they may be one goalscoring machine that could deny either the top prize.

Despite a fair few assists from Lowe’s duo, neither can come close to Tranmere striker James Norwood in terms of goals, scoring 26 league goals this season, 9 more than Nicky Maynard. Where Tranmere would be without his goals in another debate. 5 wins in a row, the Merseyside based club look the most likeliest to make one final push for the automatic promotion places, trailing MK Dons by 5 points but can look to David’s Flitcroft Mansfield cracking under pressure for a glimmer of hope.

All three have had a huge effect on there respective teams this season, but if Mayor and O’Shea are to be denied, it will be simply because an out and out goal scorer has had one of those seasons.

Ryan Lowe has been voted League Two’s best manager for 2018/19 season. Nine months of intense competition, 46 league games plus three cup competitions, with one involving youth Premier League sides.

So for the Bury boss to achieve the gong in his first season in full time management deserves some recognition, especially with a club who were scraping the barrel when he took over full time following on from League One relegation.

So with 38 games played and 71 league goals scored this season, the most in the division, with midfielder Jay O’Shea scoring 16 of them, both Lowe and Bury are leading the end of season honours list once again. With eight assists, Danny Mayor joins O’Shea on the ‘player of the season’ nomination list too, making it a very impressive night for the League Two side.

Yet although one can’t argue with appreciation, the fact awards are flying out during the ‘run in’ bit of the season, takes some credibility off the award.

Despite Ryan Lowe’s work on this side being deservedly lauded-Bury haven’t lost a league game since boxing day – it seems unfair to hand out the award as his sides end season position is yet to be decided.

If Bury somehow suffer a collapse in the final eight games and fail to seal promotion, then Lowe cannot be the League’s best manager. At least four would have achieved better than him in taking their respective teams out if the division, maybe five if a coach achieves the ‘great escape’, for example Sol Campbell at Macclesfield turning the tables in the final few weeks of the season.

All this is ‘ifs and buts’ of course. Bury ending the season with promotion would give Lowe as good as argument to deserve the award as any manager. You don’t score the quantity of goals or play a brand of football that Bury have on a regular basis, without a manager encouraging an expansive philosophy that the Shakers ex-striker has done so.

An outspoken admirer of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, Lowe has made no secret to the fact he wants his Bury side emulating the best English football has to offer. His latest individual success only increases his ever-growing reputation.

However, the fact he has this award before the season is up with promotion still not secure, he nor his side can start celebrating awards too greatly just yet.

Timings of these awards is of course out of Lowe’s control. As things stand he probably deserves it. For the EFL, it would all look a bit embarrassing if Bury didn’t get promoted now.

It’s probably hard to find a more popular manager with the fans than Ryan Lowe at Bury. It seems impossible to not like a successful club player who shows potential to be all the same as a manager after making the step up, many ex-players find hard when stepping behind the white line. With Bury’s current league position under Lowe and the quality of football he’s brought to Gigg Lane, he is most definitely one of football’s in-form managers at present.

Lowe will no doubt have the full club backing at Bury, which it seems strange that he could leave the club. After confirming in yesterday’s press conference that rumours of a move to Kenilworth Road were simply ‘speculation’ and ‘nothing else’, it would be hard to find a football-related argument which suggests Lowe would leave, what looks like an exciting project under New Ownership.

The links to the League One club are a testament to the early success Lowe has enjoyed in a short amount of time. The style of football played by Bury has drawn parallel with that of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool over the past few weeks. Not least after his sides stunning comeback against MK Dons last Saturday which saw Bury come back from 3-1 down to win 4-3. A scoreline typical of the early days Klopp had at Anfield, which, as we can see at present, has laid the foundations for a tilt at the Premier League title.

However, Lowe will only have his eye one title at present and that’s the fight for automatic promotion from League Two. Tomorrow’s game against Forest Green will be no easy three points, however, as the Shakers face a team who haven’t lost since November.

But if there’s any team that can change that record then it is indeed Bury. Backed by the news that ‘The Irish Messi’ Jay O’Shea has signed a new one year contract, and the feeling Danny Mayor looks to be staying put before the January transfer window ends, all this should do no harm to the current dressing room mood.

In this the season of goodwill. Bury will hope to bring a great deal of festive cheer to those who decide to watch football, rather than brave Christmas shopping at the Trafford Centre this weekend.

A few changes will likely be made to the side still reeling from last Saturday’s derby defeat at Oldham Athletic.

While most of the players in this side are shoo-ins to start against Tranmere, as they have been so many times this season, this should be the starting eleven as the Shakers look to notch up another win under the lights of Gigg Lane.

Changes

After a brace at Boundary Park, Caolan Lavery should be recalled to the starting eleven to start alongside Nicky Maynard in an attacking duo.

Lavery, on loan from Championship side Sheffield United, has never really settled when out on loan at any club he’s been at. Enduring at times a stop-start career.

A run in the side could be just what he needs in order to fire in the goals. That can only come if Lowe chooses to put faith in him, as he should on Saturday.

Having gone three games without a goal, Nicky Maynard may be rested, but this may pose to great a risk for Lowe.

Another change will likely come at the back, although this will pose more trouble for Lowe than the changes needed to be made in the forward line.

Will Aimson is a favourite to be recalled to the team, having been dropped for Eoghan O’Connell after Cheltenham in November. It may be O’Connell who is dropped to the bench, questions may be asked whether the Irishmen was brought back too early from injury.

Best players of the half season

Cheltenham manager Michael Duff said Bury were there best team in League Two this season, this after their 4-1 defeat at Gigg only a few games ago. So which players have thrived as Bury began life back in League Two.

Adam Thompson has thrived so far in a central defensive area and is a favourite amongst fans and the manager and unless his 2019 is plagued by injury, will play every game virtually in the centre of a back three. Who will play with him on a consistent basis could be a concern.

Jay O’Shea is another who Bury can’t do without and more’s to the problem would leave a massive hole if he was to miss any amount of fixtures, thriving in front of goal and alongside Neil Danns forming a solid partnership in the middle of the park. Named League Two’s November player of the month.

Danny Mayor is undoubtedly Bury’s best player when everybody is playing at their best. Technically the most capable and one of the few players in League Two who poses such a threat despite not being a striker. Also widely recognised outside the club as well.

Like Thompson and O’Shea, Bury will want the midfielder firing on all cylinders in order to achieve promotion.

Bury are flying in League Two at the moment, Ryan Lowe has got the Shakers ticking and scoring for fun. Having scored four goals plus for four of the six November matches – Scoring two and three in the other games.

Sitting in fifth place, a playoff place should we add. Everything is looking rosy at the Energy Check Stadium.

After an uncomfortable start following last seasons relegation from League One, September came around and things have clicked into gear for Lowe’s men. Nicky Maynard is firing them in with his eight goals and two assists so far, followed by Moore (6 Goals), O’Shea (6 Goals) and Danny Mayor with his five goals and five assists providing the much-needed help a team needs in a race for promotion.

Is this early form enough to let the loyal Bury fans dream of promotion come to the end of the season, or is it too early for that type of talk with us not even reaching the halfway point of the campaign yet?

Lowe seems to have already gained that much-needed momentum. His 3-5-2 formation is working, and he has players on his hands with the quality of standards higher than the fourth tier of English Football.

The Shakers have slowly started to grease the wheel, after taking them a few games to come to terms with life in a lower division.

Furthermore, Bury may be ten points behind leaders at the moment MK Dons, but they are just two points behind third-placed Colchester, who they have already beat 2-1 earlier in the season.

If I was a betting man, my money would be on the Shakers to be playing League One football next season already. They look white hot, however, December will be a make or break month as they go head to head with teams in and around them.

Should they go into January still within the top seven places, Bury fans would be right to think thier dream is going to be a reality…

If Bury’s fellow League Two opponents were taking their goal scoring feats lightly, the 4-0 win over Stevenage would have made the doubters think again.

Following on from the 5-0 win over Dover in the FA Cup and the 3-1 win against Fleetwood in the Checkatrade Trophy, the dedicated fans who went to all three competitions were witness to a 12 goal extravaganza across 7 days of football.

The Stevenage triumph showed just why Bury are a contender for a play-off spot and maybe even automatic promotion. The Shakers lie just three points off MK Dons who occupy the final automatic promotion spot and just one point behind Tranmere Rovers in 6th.

It’s been a week full of goals and talking points, let’s take a look at what’s hot at Gigg Lane…

Quantity and Quality

In most cases of life, quality is always a winner over the quantity of a substance. yet like with most cases football offers the exception. The Shakers are scoring some cracking goals at present, something that Bobby Charlton would have been proud of.

Eoghan O’Connell’s goal at the weekend was as good as any you’ll see all weekend, a right foot curler into the top right-hand corner to round off a perfect afternoon. The other few weren’t bad either. It’s goals galore at present. Macclesfield, Notts County, Dover and Grimsby were already on an ever-growing list of teams to be toppled by Lowe’s men before Stevenage joined on Saturday,

Danny Mayor, a bit too good

Danny Mayor’s performances and stats are as good as any. Mayor may be shy off the pitch, not that Bury will mind as he certainly expresses himself on it.

Another pearling goal at the weekend adds to an ever growing collection. Having found himself struggling for form over the past year or so, the twenty-eight year old is making up for lost time at present.

Showing form that mirrors the likes of Eden Hazard and David Silva in the Premier League, it’s time Mayor starts getting the outward credit that matches those above.